My Boy Hardy

I can't wait another day to talk about Hardy. I met Hardy in December last year in Toronto. I spotted him in this store at the Scarborough Town Centre. It was one of the more expensive little boutique stores...you know the kind that don't usually have many people because it is usually too expensive. Anyways, he was standing there looking so handsome and proud it was impossible not to notice him. I had to have him although I wasn't sure if the price I was to pay would be worth it. In December after I met him, we didn't hang out that much as I was so busy getting ready for France. This was also because I knew he was going to come with me.

And yes, Hardy came to France with me but at first I didn't really keep in contact with him or pay him any mind. I was so busy trying to learn about French culture. These last three months though, I turned to him when I was in need. When I needed someone to help me on my trip to Porto, he helped without question. Same thing on my trips to Madrid, Brussels, Dublin, London, Rome and Venice. He has been there for me, never complaining, even when I treat him oh so wrong.

Hardy, you see, is my little carry-on suitcase. I have taken the poor thing through so many places he probably would not have gone to by himself. He spent the day rolling through Porto in drizzling rain, a day rolling through Madrid in 40 degrees weather and many hours wandering around with me because I could be counted on to get lost even on my way to my hostel/host's place. He has been rolled through dirt so many times...He's fallen quite hard in all the aforementioned cities at least once. I stuffed him to the brim and then some in Madrid. But the little trooper did not even whimper.

About 3 weeks ago, he developed some sort of physical problem. His pull-out handle keeps getting stuck or coming out altogether, no doubt from my mistreatment of him. Quite embarassing for him I'm sure. Especially since sometimes when this happens, I just open him up, for all and sundry to see. Then I usually stick my hand inside him to help his handle back down. Le pauvre!

Hardy is worth what I paid for him and I do not want him to have to be put down before I leave Paris. Therefore, I am willing the little fella to make it back home to Toronto safe and sound. Then we can see about getting him all fixed up. After all, I chose him right. He has a lifetime warranty.

Oh To Be In Paris (Part III)

Last time I wrote up on Paris, I forgot to mention these things:

• A lot of people in Paris have bikes, aka motorcycles, compared to Canada. Of course, this makes a lot of sense because in Canada it would be very dangerous to ride a bike with the frequent snowing that occurs in the winter, which lasts quite a while. Whereas, in France, or at least in Paris, it barely snows. Today, I saw a very nice Peugeot bike. I didn't even know that Peugeot made bikes but I most definitely liked the one I saw today.
• When I was in Quebec, one of my friends had housemates who were all from France. These housemates of hers used to gripe about the price of wine in Canada. They swore that they could buy wine for $3CDN. I didn't really believe that they actually sold wine so cheap in France especially considering that one Euro is 150% of the value of a Canadian dollar.
  Until I got here. Lo and behold, it is indeed possible to buy a bottle of wine for 1.50Euros which is actually less than $3!!! In fact, alcoholic drinks are generally very cheap. I bought a huge bottle of Sangria for 1.50Euros at the supermarket the other day. Also, when you go to restaurants or pubs, the price of a glass of wine is oh so much cheaper than a glass of water or non-alcoholic drink. My parents were not lying when they warned me that the French don't drink water (thus implying that they're more likely to drink wine than water).
• On my bus ride to and from work, there is a point, when the bus goes over some bridge-whose-name-is-unknown-to-me, where I have an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower and the mini-Statue of Liberty. I get the view of the tower in the daylight on my way to work and a lit up view of it in the night on my way from work. Magnifico!
  The first time I was passing over the bridge and my eyes wondered downward until I saw the mini-Statue of Liberty, I was a bit surprised. While I knew that the French were the ones that gave the Statue of Liberty as a present to the US, I didn't know that they had a miniature version of it in the Seine River.

Stressed

I've been a bit stressed this past week and will probably be for the next few days while trying to prepare my application for a one year Working Holiday French visa. The French are so doggone picky with what they want to be submitted with the visa application and they make it so hard to clarify anything. I can only contact them by email because they do not answer questions by phone. However, emails only get answered after 3 business days! I have an appointment at the embassy this Tuesday and, besides worrying about my french language skills, I'm worried that I won't have everything in order. I've read lots of other people's bad experiences having to go to the consulate more than once for minor things caused by filling out the application incorrectly or not having proper documentation, most of which were due to misunderstanding the questions/requirements stated on the application. I only want to go to the consulate once. I cannot afford to miss more time off work especially as I'ma need lots of dough to live in a country where the Euro is used. It is possible to submit the application by mail but that takes weeks to process, whereas in person, if accepted, I'd get the visa the same day.

My appointment is in 5 days but I haven't even filled out the long-term visa application properly yet. One question asks if I intend to work in France and another asks if I plan to study in France. I plan to do both of those things but apparently people online have reported that if you check work they'll assume you need a work visa and if you check study, they'll think you need a student visa. Although with the working holiday you're allowed to do training/studying and, as the name implies, work. Why they gotta make it so confusing? In addition, the French want me to give them names, citizenship, addresses and contact info of all family members AND acquaintances in France. I can understand family, but acquaintances?! Imagine if I were a guy asking my female acquaintances in France for those details. They'd think I was a stalker. I just hope I can get responses from two of my closest relatives in France (at least one of whom I've never met) in time for my appointment, or else there goes one lie.

Yes, I know that I should not have procrastinated but I've long come to accept the fact that Procrastination and I are joined at the hip. If only the world would just recognize that I deserve special treatment because of this disability. But I digress...

Truth be told, my original appointment was for last Tuesday but I postponed it because I was having difficulty finding travel insurance and personal liability insurance, one of the requirements stipulated by the French consulate. I had to buy travel insurance for a year although I plan to stay there for only 4 months because that's what they require. I don't really mind that because knowing me if I find a great job I'd stay there. Also, I've been hearing that the French consulate officers have been refusing those who say they're going to stay less than 6 months so I'ma tell them I'll be staying for a year. As for personal liability, no Canadian company seems to offer it so I'll be submitting an affidavit saying I'll get it when I arrive. This, despite the fact that I'm not even 100% sure what it is exactly.

I can't postpone my appointment any more because I would like to leave Canada sometime between Jan. 13 and 22, that's just a little over a month from now!

I would love to have everything in order before I go to France. I'd like to have my ticket in hand at least one month before I leave. I'd like to have paid my rent downpayment on an apartment, hopefully shared with young native Frenchies in a decent Parisian neighbourhood near my school. I'd like to know that I have travel insurance AND this unknown personal liability insurance paid before I leave Canada. Instead of not even knowing which language school I'll be attending, I'd like to have paid my language school fees. I would, of course, even prefer to have found some sort of job before leaving Canada. However, at the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky if I step foot out of Toronto by getting chosen as one of the recipients of the working holiday visa for France.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in the USA. Having first celebrated it there, I think I rather prefer Thanksgiving in the States than in Canada. My main reason for this is I believe that date on which it falls in the States is much better than the Canadian one.

Thanksgiving to me is similar to Christmas - It's a time to be thankful for all that God has given us, to reunite with family and to relax. I love Christmas time because once it hits December everyone on the streets start looking happier. There is more hustle and bustle of people shopping for things or excitedly talking about presents. People share their funny stories of family members and the city looks more Christmas-y.

When I lived in the US, I knew that once it was close to Thanksgiving time, everyone started acting like it was close to Christmas time. So Thanksgiving marked the beginning of the Christmas season.

Canadian Thanksgiving, however, is in the first week of October. That means that it occurs when all the stores and everyone is gearing up for Halloween. So once Thanksgiving rolls around people do not get into the Christmas spirit as easily because Halloween is next on the agenda and, to me, it is the opposite of Christmas. Everything is dark and gloomy for Halloween versus happy and cheery for Christmas. So in Canada, families re-unite for just that short Thanksgiving weekend. Then we have a whole month before people start really getting into the Christmas season. No looking forward to many family gatherings or parties or nothing.

Anyways, I'm just glad that Christmas is now on everyone's minds.

This is me

My friends have often encouraged me to write a book or at least short stories about the things that happen in my life as I'm always telling them about some dramatic event that happened to me or my family. The stories that they've heard have included having my house surrounded by a SWAT team, being that girl at the office Christmas party, praying that our car will not explode after catching on fire with the whole family in it, having our roof blown off during a hurricane, bathing in the rain when there was no water in my house, getting lost driving to school even after 2 years practice, climbing up a steep grassy hill (cliff really) at the Plaines D'Abraham in Quebec IN HEELS, having a sketchy French guy really come on to me while staying in Montreal, and complaining about my family's love of going everywhere together even to get milk at the supermarket (we're 5 now 6 of us in the family AND one of my sisters and I are both over 21).

Truthfully, I don't think that my stories are all that different from many other people's but maybe if I tell you a bit about my life you will understand the background to the stories and thoughts that I will be posting...

I was born in Belgium to a Haitian mother and a Chinese-Jamaican father. I lived in an inner-city neighbourhood in Jamaica until I was eleven then we moved to a very different residential neighborhood. My move to the upper middle class area also coincided with my beginning high school, a high school filled with students from the upper echelons of Jamaican society. During high school, with my father's encouragement I decided to go to the USA for college. I left Jamaica at 18 years old to go to a top liberal arts college in the the middle-of-nowhere Iowa in the States. I did two years there before my parents success in getting approved to immigrate to Canada, prompted my transferring to a university here in Toronto. I transferred because I wanted to save them some money and also to live in a city and be closer to my family. It turns out that not much money was saved because I was getting a nice grant from my old school and I had failed to factor in other costs besides tuition into the picture when looking at Canadian universities. Anyways, I just graduated with a degree in Computer Science this past June. Yes I was one of very few females in the graduating class. I did a 16 months co-op as part of my degree. All in all with the transfer from the States and co-op it took me 6 years to graduate. I'm currently working on contract with the hope of going to France next year. Oh, another thing about me, I am constantly striving to become fluent in French and so I always try to do things that will bring me closer to this goal.

Today I decided to start my own blog and share my personal reflections and (sometimes) outrageous stories with the world. I may even tell you, in entirety, some of the stories I mentioned earlier.

Many people have big dreams and hopes for their blogs.

I just hope you like it.

:]